RON AND JEAN (walking group)

Ron and Jean were, and continue to be, keen country walkers and until January 2006 they had been leading one of our Club's regular Wednesday walking groups, the Strollers, or (as they prefer to be named), the Shufflers.

It was around 16 years ago that Ron and Jean first started organising little walks out into the countryside in this beautiful and rugged part of Spain, along with their good friends (another) Ron and his wife Audrey. After a while this little group grew to become recognised as one of the activities associated with the Gandia Area Social Club (most of the participants on the increasingly popular walks were also members of the Club). These four, led by the two Rons, continued organising and leading the walks for some eight years, until another keen man-of-the-great-outdoors, Kevin, joined them. Kevin and his wife Anna gradually took over Ron and Audrey's role until Jean unfortunately became poorly around 6 years ago which is when Kevin and Anna took the leadership responsibility.

Two or three years back, the walking group had expanded to the point of becoming unmanageable, especially with so many members of different walking aspirations and abilities turning up each week. The decision was taken to split the group into two separate entities, still under Club auspices. These were dubbed, respectively, the Ramblers (medium ability), led by Kevin and Anna, and the Strollers/Shufflers (those who enjoy a more leisurely approach to taking the country air), led by the evergreen Ron and Jean.

About this time another offshoot emerged, called (among other things) the Toughies. This is a group of Club diehards (or nutters as some say), who like to take on more challenging sorties into the wilderness at weekends. Kevin being amongst them.

But back to Ron and Jean, they have decided that it's time to step down and pass on the mantle of Shufflers leadership to fresh minds and feet (if feet can ever be fresh!). They have given the Club many years of energy, enthusiasm and know-how and we owe them a deep debt of gratitude. We thank them for all their dedicated work in the past and look forward to enjoying their company on many more future walks.